Supreme Court sets date to hear Md. gerrymandering case

FILE – In this June 26, 2017, file photo, the Supreme Court is seen in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

The Supreme Court will hear arguments March 28 on whether Maryland’s Democrat-led General Assembly unconstitutionally redrew a congressional district to replace a Republican U.S. representative with a Democratic one.

The court released its oral arguments schedule for March on Wednesday. A decision in O. John Benisek et al. v. Linda H. Lamone et al., No. 17-333, is expected by the summer.

Republicans claim the 6th Congressional District violates the First Amendment right of GOP voters to political association because the legislature deliberately redrew the district to ensure the election of a Democrat and in “retaliation” for the district having elected a Republican.

Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh, a Democrat, has argued in papers filed with the justices that the Republicans cannot show that the General Assembly penalized GOP voters because of their voting record.

Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, said last week that he intends to join a brief urging the justices to strike down the district as unconstitutionally drawn.